Opening Options

More Resources

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Human Rights Act 1998, Section 18.

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

18 Appointment to European Court of Human Rights.E+W+S+N.I.

(1)In this section “judicial office” means the office of—

(a)Lord Justice of Appeal, Justice of the High Court or Circuit judge, in England and Wales;

(b)judge of the Court of Session or sheriff, in Scotland;

(c)Lord Justice of Appeal, judge of the High Court or county court judge, in Northern Ireland.

(2)The holder of a judicial office may become a judge of the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) without being required to relinquish his office.

(3)But he is not required to perform the duties of his judicial office while he is a judge of the Court.

(4)In respect of any period during which he is a judge of the Court—

(a)a Lord Justice of Appeal or Justice of the High Court is not to count as a judge of the relevant court for the purposes of section 2(1) or 4(1) of the [F1Senior Courts Act 1981](maximum number of judges) nor as a judge of the [F2Senior Courts] for the purposes of section 12(1) to (6) of that Act (salaries etc.);

(b)a judge of the Court of Session is not to count as a judge of that court for the purposes of section 1(1) of the M1Court of Session Act 1988 (maximum number of judges) or of section 9(1)(c) of the M2Administration of Justice Act 1973 (“the 1973 Act”) (salaries etc.);

(c)a Lord Justice of Appeal or judge of the High Court in Northern Ireland is not to count as a judge of the relevant court for the purposes of section 2(1) or 3(1) of the M3Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 (maximum number of judges) nor as a judge of the [F3Court of Judicature] of Northern Ireland for the purposes of section 9(1)(d) of the 1973 Act (salaries etc.);

(d)a Circuit judge is not to count as such for the purposes of section 18 of the M4Courts Act 1971 (salaries etc.);

(e)a sheriff is not to count as such for the purposes of section 14 of the M5Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1907 (salaries etc.);

(f)a county court judge of Northern Ireland is not to count as such for the purposes of section 106 of the M6County Courts Act Northern Ireland) 1959 (salaries etc.).

(5)If a sheriff principal is appointed a judge of the Court, section 11(1) of the M7Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 (temporary appointment of sheriff principal) applies, while he holds that appointment, as if his office is vacant.

(6)Schedule 4 makes provision about judicial pensions in relation to the holder of a judicial office who serves as a judge of the Court.

(7)The Lord Chancellor or the Secretary of State may by order make such transitional provision (including, in particular, provision for a temporary increase in the maximum number of judges) as he considers appropriate in relation to any holder of a judicial office who has completed his service as a judge of the Court.

[F4(7A)The following paragraphs apply to the making of an order under subsection (7) in relation to any holder of a judicial office listed in subsection (1)(a)—

(a)before deciding what transitional provision it is appropriate to make, the person making the order must consult the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales;

(b)before making the order, that person must consult the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

(7B)The following paragraphs apply to the making of an order under subsection (7) in relation to any holder of a judicial office listed in subsection (1)(c)—

(a)before deciding what transitional provision it is appropriate to make, the person making the order must consult the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland;

(b)before making the order, that person must consult the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

(7C)The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales may nominate a judicial office holder (within the meaning of section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under this section.

(7D)The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland may nominate any of the following to exercise his functions under this section—

(a)the holder of one of the offices listed in Schedule 1 to the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002;

(b)a Lord Justice of Appeal (as defined in section 88 of that Act).]

Annotations:

Annotations are used to give authority for changes and other effects on the legislation you are viewing and to convey editorial information. They appear at the foot of the relevant provision or under the associated heading. Annotations are categorised by annotation type, such as F-notes for textual amendments and I-notes for commencement information (a full list can be found in the Editorial Practice Guide). Each annotation is identified by a sequential reference number. For F-notes, M-notes and X-notes, the number also appears in bold superscript at the relevant location in the text. All annotations contain links to the affecting legislation.

Print The Whole Act

Print The Whole Cross Heading

Print This Section only

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made):The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy

lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item

confers power and blanket amendment details

all formats of all associated documents

correction slips

links to related legislation and further information resources

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy